Methods for operating an internal combustion engine are known, in which a preferred position of a shaft of the internal combustion engine is determined. For example, providing an inductive sensor for internal combustion engines, which scans the teeth on the starter gear rim and determines a rotational speed value therefrom, is known from European Patent No. EP 0 661 433. Furthermore, the top dead center of at least one cylinder is marked by a marker. For this purpose, one tooth is omitted or a tooth is marked accordingly.